Method to Our Madness

You might think that the Road to Ruin is just a random bunch of blog postings by Bob Burke and Jim Bacon, but you're be sorely mistaken. Believe it or not, there are reasons for the topics we choose to focus on.

I have laid out our framework for analysis in the Road to Ruin's "Transportation Primer." Here, we lay out the four major themes that animate Bob Burke's reporting and my opinion pieces:

1. Advocates of a transportation tax increase are exagerrating the severity of the transportation crisis in an effort to stampede lawmakers into a tax increase.
2. Virginia cannot build its way out of traffic congestion -- adopting more rational human settlement patterns is essential.
3. Even in the absence of land use reform, there are alternative strategies for coping with congestion that don't entail tax increases.
4. Giving politicians more money to "solve" Virginia's transportation problems is like giving booze to a drunk to "solve" his hangover.

Each section contains links to key articles and columns we have written.